Tag: Nearpod

Unless, you’ve been living under a rock for quite some time, you already know that Nearpod is one of THE BEST lesson delivery, assessment, and overall engagement tools out. But did you know that on iOS devices, you can turn it up a notch? Peep this!

While working with some math teachers a while back, I showed them all that Nearpod can do for them and how it can change the way the teacher and students engage with a lesson especially since our district has a BYOD infrastructure. In doing so, we had a mixed bag of devices we were using and noticed that when a student gets to a Draw It slide on an iOS device while using the Nearpod app, they have a nifty feature that is not available on any other device, the ability to use the camera! See the camera icon below?

Is that hamster in your head beginning to turn the wheel? Good! Here’s what you can do with this tool:

Have students take pictures of items that begin with a certain letter and have them draw the letter with a highlighter after (Pre-K, Kinder, ELL)

Bellwork/Warmups: have students take a picture of a sentence and make the corrections/edits on the fly with the drawing tools.

Have students take a picture of a math equation/problem and have them work it out using the drawing tools

Have students answer more complex math problems on a sheet of paper and have them take a picture of their work (see my work below)

The possibilities are endless and so much can be done with this tool. If your schools have BYOD, iPhone/iPad users can easily use this on their own iOS devices (Nearpod, please make this available for Android and Chromebook users). There it is folks, another way to get the best use out of Nearpod and iOS in your classes. What will you do now that you know this information? Remember, it’s not about the tools… it’s how you use it!

In this mashup episode, I sit down with Dan Kreiness while at the Nearpod PioNear Summit in Hollywood Beach, FL. Not only are Dan and I fellow PioNears, we’re also podcasters. He is the creator and host of The Leader Of Learning Podcast which focuses on leadership, specifically in education. While at the summit, we linked up with fellow PioNears and made the best connections ever, human connections. We discussed all things Nearpod, education, leadership, and of course, food. The good folks at Nearpod treated us like royalty and gave us all a unique opportunity to interact and mingle with like-minded, passionate educators…in Miami…in February…where it was 82 degrees! Not only did we see other PioNears, many of us saw things like wild iguanas, manatees, baby hammerhead sharks, and jellyfish on the beach. We saw these with our eyes and not our hands. Anyway, here’s the episode and a huge shout out the all #NearpodPioNear folks and the Nearpod staff for this unique event. Buen Provecho!

What’s up folks?! It’s officially 2018 and educational technology is booming at an alarming rate. In other words, there are options available to teachers, students, and parents that didn’t exist just 10 years ago. Apps, web tools, and devices that are now becoming faster, smaller, and less expensive. Students no longer need to view a screen from 30 feet away to see the content being presented to them (Thank you Nearpod and Google Cast for EDU). Students can reflect on a topic or question from the privacy of their own home with their own personal device (Thank you Recap and Flipgrid). Peer collaboration and feedback can be done from any internet-enabled device from anywhere in the world (Thank you GSuite and PeerGrade). Anyone can create a professional video to be seen by a global audience with a Smartphone and free web tools (Thank you WeVideo, YouTube, and SoundTrap). Professional development is now at our fingertips on demand with podcasts (Thank you House of EdTech, The EdTech Take Out, Cult Of Pedagogy, and all other educational podcasters). With all of these tools at our disposal, if someone was to walk into a random classroom in any school district in any state, student devices would probably be used to consume and not focus on the 4 C’s.

Why is this? Is the term “Integrating” too broad? Do schools and districts not teach what these look like in the classroom? Do school district network block many of these tools because of what they can “possibly” bring? What are the “possibilities” that these tools can bring to a classroom? Authentic experiences. That’s what they can bring.

Sure, someone who wants to use these tools for the Dark Side will do so. That’s where classroom management comes into play but that’s another topic for another day.

Integrating technology means students are creating content for others to view, evaluate, and possibly augment. Integrating looks like students using classroom and personal devices to create videos to be used in student-created lessons for virtual presentations. Students are not in rows but in pods around the room. The teacher is not teaching whole group rather, facilitating and working with small groups to check progress. The class is a bit louder than a “stand and deliver” environment because students are engaging with each other, collaborating with others, and engaging in feedback. Students, for the most part, want to come to class because of the authentic experiences that occur and the ability to tap into their creative side they normally cannot do in the typical classroom setting. If this is what true integration looks like in a classroom, ask yourself this, what does YOUR classroom technology integration look like? If you’re not a teacher, what does your child’s classroom look like when you walk in? What do you want it to look like?

Teachers, if you’d like to truly integrate technology do something you haven’t done or are possibly scared of doing. Step out of the comfort zone and understand that you will be uncomfortable. That’s OK. There are many others feeling what you are feeling and more importantly, there are many people who can hold your hand along the way. Twitter is a PLN. Connect with teachers who can assist you with this virtually and in your building. Your district probably has coaches who are more than willing to help you and model integration for you. Start off by taking one day a week without handing out worksheets. #worksheetlesswednesday. This is an achievable task that can be done with minimal effort. After doing this for a couple of weeks, beef it up by aligning what you’re doing with one of the 4 C’s. Continue checking in on Twitter and collaborating with others in your building and possibly outside your building. Listen to podcasts (such as EdTech Bites) and build your knowledge during your commutes, walks, workouts, or while cooking (Thank you Amazon Echo and Google Home). These baby steps towards true technology integration will bring you closer to the classroom teacher you’ve always wanted to be. More importantly, will create authentic experiences for your students. After all #kidsdeserveit right?

Have you ever considered app smashing with Flipgrid. There are many different ways to do this but my go-to tool to do this with is Nearpod. To do this, make sure you have both a Nearpod and Flipgrid account. Once that is done, you’re one step closer. To see step-by-step instructions, check out my how-to video that walks you through the rest of the process. Enjoy!

We all have a couple hundred Google Slides presos that we’ve borrowed, copied, and stolen over the years right? How about taking those bad boys and creating an interactive Nearpod preso with them? The beauty of this is that there is no need to recreate it, simply upload and transform! Here is a recipe card that goes over the How-To. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Nearpod, I challenge you to peep this and give it the ol’ college try. For those of you who are familiar with this, I challenge you to revisit this and beef up what you are presenting to your students. Beef, that’s making me hungry. Talk to you guys later! Deuces and as always, enjoy!